WORK HAS started on a €600 million energy project that will connect the Irish and British power grids.
EirGrid yesterday began laying underwater cables for the east-west interconnector which it says should be capable of transporting enough energy to power 300,000 homes on its completion.
The development is also expected to bring a greater level of competition to the energy sector and opens up the possibility of Ireland exporting wind-derived energy to Britain and beyond.
Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte said the interconnector’s completion could help the State realise its ambitious renewable energy goals of 20 per cent from renewable sources ahead of 2020.
The project involves 180km (112 miles) of electrical cable being laid in a trench beneath the Irish Sea between North Beach, Rush, in north Co Dublin, and Barkby Beach in northern Wales.
A further 80km of overground cable is being laid to link the connector – 46km of which is in Ireland – to converter stations on either side of the Irish Sea where the power is adapted to suit the relevant national energy grid.
The Irish converter station is being constructed at Woodlands, Co Meath, with the British one being built at Shotton in Wales.
A cable-laying ship, Nostag 10, has anchored itself at North Beach. It commenced laying the marine cables yesterday morning. As the project moves farther out to sea, larger vessels and robot-operated vehicles will be employed.
The interconnector is to cost €600 million. EirGrid said this would be made up of a €110 million grant from the European Union, a €300 million loan from the European Investment Bank, some €60 million from EirGrid and a commercial loan from Barclays/BNP Paribas.
The project, scheduled to be completed by the end of next year, involves routing cable through Rush in a plastic duct buried one metre below the street surface. This plan has drawn the ire of locals. They staged protests over the prospect of the cable passing just two metres from a number of homes and businesses in Rush, citing health and safety concerns.
Eirgrid sought court injunctions against a number of individuals last November following protests over the project, warning that delays would cost €100,000 per day and that the costs would likely be borne by electricity customers.
Last year, the then minister for energy Eamon Ryan asked EirGrid to re-examine the route but the company said it could not find a feasible alternative.
In a report commissioned by the Department of Energy, international health expert Dr Eric van Rongen subsequently rejected fears the interconnector posed acute or long-term health risks.
Mr Rabbitte said laying of the cable would link Ireland to the single European energy market and would benefit all electricity consumers. “The interconnector will improve security of supply, as well as increasing competition and assisting in achieving our ambitious renewable targets,” he said.
